The Persistence of Tomorrow

“C. S. Lewis”, 2025 Wood Engraving, 5.5 x 6 inches (sheet)

Several years back I started a wood engraving of the late, great, C. S. Lewis. As I reached the midway point the face in the sketch that I had transferred to the block, began rubbing off — yes, I was foolishly saving the most difficult part of the engraving for last. So, naturally, rather than dealing with the issue head on, I drug my feet as I contemplated whether to work with what was left of the sketch or to attempt to re-transfer his face to the block. Long story short, after a decent amount of finagling, I successfully re-transferred his face to the block and was able to finish the engraving just a week or two later.

The block was harvested and prepared for engraving from a downed holly tree that my wife's aunt was having removed. It, and a collection of other blocks, were then left to dry for around a year before I began work on the engraving. Preparing my own blocks for engraving has become a whole other story in and of itself.

The artwork for the engraving was a pencil drawing of C. S. Lewis that I completed back in 2022. He being one of my favorite authors and thinkers, it was a bit of a daunting project to try and capture his likeness in pencil, let alone as a line engraving. As always, there are plenty of things that I would adjust if I did it again but I was happy with the result nonetheless.